Patterson enjoys atmosphere for game, not outcome

STARKVILLE -- Pat Patterson enjoyed the setting, but he would have preferred a different outcome.

The former Noxubee County High School standout caught one pass for 17 yards Saturday in the No. 20 University of Mississippi''s 41-27 loss to Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium.

The catch was the 12th of the season for the former Tiger, who said the Egg Bowl game was what he thought it would be.

"I knew it was going to be loud out here and that it was going to get crazy," Patterson said.

Patterson said the Rebels (8-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) have the ability to be more consistent on offense. He said everyone will have to "get on the same page" and "make sure everyone does everything right" to regroup in time for their bowl game.

"We will be able to use this as motivation because you can never take a team lightly," Patterson said. "I believe that''s what we did early in the game and they began to just pound on us."

Snead inconsistent

Junior quarterback Jevan Snead had moments of brilliance and throws he would like to forget Saturday.

Unfortunately, Snead threw three interceptions that prevented the Rebels from capitalizing on the big-play potential of wide receiver Shay Hodge and running back Dexter McCluster.

Ole Miss offensive coordinator Kent Austin said Snead threw the ball well down the field but wasn''t as sharp on other patterns. Several times Saturday he either had too much loft on balls or not enough on others.

"You have to play consistently," Austin said. "You can''t beat any team in the SEC and turn the football over."

Snead was 18 of 30 for 295 yards. He had touchdown passes of 20 yards to Hodge, 48 yards Markeith Summers, and 52 yards to McCluster, but Corey Broomfield returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown to negate one of those scores.

Snead said the Rebels have played in "chaotic" atmospheres like the one Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium, but they just didn''t play well Saturday.

"We didn''t make a play when we needed to and I tried to force a couple of throws," Snead said. "

Crowd control

Nutt was tight-lipped when asked his impression of the crowd of 55,365 at Davis Wade Stadium.

"It was all right," Nutt said.

At several point in the second half, the crowd responded to the urgings of MSU coach Dan Mullen and the Bulldogs and raised the decibel level, even without the clatter of cowbells.

Nutt didn''t speculate about what a victory like Saturday''s could do for the Bulldogs. Instead, he chose to focus on the Rebels'' next game, which will come at a fairly high-tier bowl game.

"I know we''re going to a bowl and we''re really going to take advantage of that time and get our guys better," Nutt said. "I just want to make sure our guys suck in this feeling because it is a really bad feeling."

This and that

With six receptions for 96 yards, Hodge established an Ole Miss single-season record for receiving yards (1,023) and becomes the first 1,000-yard receiver in school history. His touchdown catch was the eighth of the year and the 22nd of his career, which is within two of the Rebel all-time record. ... McCluster had 145 all-purpose yards (82 rushing, 63 receiving). It marked the first time in the past five SEC games McCluster failed to reach 100 yards rushing. He is 15 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.